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riouiuo
ArfNiNG RESOURCE CENTER
8B11EL COLLEGE
3900 Bethel Drive
St. Paul, Minnesota 55112
CLARION
25 March, 1988
Bethel College
St. Paul, Minnesota
First in a series
Beginnings of new curriculum explained
by Matt Richburg
The blue booklet said, 'A New Beginning,
Bethel's Academic program." It looked
like the other pamphlets, brochures and
flyers that I had received from so many
other colleges. I opened it and read
about genera! education, and the classes
that ! would have to take if I hoped to
graduate from Bethel. "Christianity and
Western Culture," "World Views," "Contemporary Christian Choices"; what did
all of these entail?
The class who entered Bethel in teh fall of
1985 and who are juniors this year were
the first to experience the new general
education requirements. Two new freshmen classes have since been added to
the program. The idea of general education probably didn't mean a whole lot to
the incoming students; however, it is the
basic concept undergirding a liberal arts
education.
Bethel and other liberal arts colleges seek
to give students a broad educational
background, one that draws from many
fields of study and prepares a student for
all aspects of life.
To achieve this goal, a college may design
its general education in two distinct ways.
Traditional liberal arts colleges or universities often use a distributive curriculum.
Students take introductory classes from a
broad range of fields including literature,
philosophy, foreign language and
science.
Bethel chose to design an inter-disciplinary curriculum. Courses are structured
around relevant themes, whether they be
Science, Technology and Society, or
General Education
A Closer Look
Group Interaction. Students are given a
choice of the course they wish to take
within a specified theme. The school may
require other classes, such as CWC, which
are taught from a variety of disciplines
including history, Bible and literature.
In 1980, the faculty began to voice discontentment with the general education
requirements. Ten years had passed since
its implementation and its flaws were
evident. Dean Ebner, Associate Dean for
Academic Affairs, said, "The old curriculum was hard to understand and the
categories had lost shape and meaning.
Students could take a little of this and a
little of that."
Although the movement began in 1980,
formal work did not start until the fall of
1982. Ebner said that many new faculty
arrived in 1981 and the new perspectives
they brought to the school got the ball
rolling on a new curriculum.
The faculty and administration decided to
keep a distributive curriculum for several
reasons. Ebner likes this perspective because classes are taught as an overview
of a field rather than as an introductory
class. Students can better comprehend a
broad range of ideas relevant to their
lives. Stan Anderson believes that "students are much more conversant with
ideas that are important in the world... if a
student takes a modern age course, 1 can
assume they've had CWC and structure
my class around that knowledge."
According to Bill Johnson, professor of
political science, the faculty also benefits
from this type of a curriculum. "The real
world is not divided into academic departments. We have to deal with things
that no one discipline completely understands. The faculty grows when it works
together."
Faculty and administration found it necessary to work together in whole in order to
accomplish the task that lay ahead. The
administration let the faculty take control
of the process and Ebner said, "Without
specifying what we wanted, we spun off
task forces and put anyone interested in
the area to work; no one was left out who
had an interest."
He was the only person who didn't have a
science background serving on the
committee. This was done to ensure a
well-rounded look at the subject matter.
These special task force committees had
two basic questions in mind at each step
of the process. What will a graduate of
Bethel need in the 1990s? and What will
await them in the 1990s? Ebner summarized the committees' goals, "We tried
to design a curriculum for a young Christian entering the world."
After the task force assigned to each
phase of the curriculum development
reached a consensus, it presented two
alternative proposals to the Central Curriculum Committee. Committee members discussed and voted on each course
designation. Objections were encouraged, and Ebner said that "town meetings" were held to allow the faculty to talk
problems out.
"We didn't vote on the whole curriculum
until we approved each piece. We
worked topic by topic, piece by piece,
issue by issue," said Ebner. Johnson said
he was happy with faculty input in the
process. "The curriculum is the one place
in the school where the faculty has a lot of
run." Anderson commented, "The administration was very cooperative and they
provided the resources necessary."
The task forces suggested basic course
headings and then provided suggestions
for courses which would give students an
intense look at an important topic. Bill
Johnson served on the committee that
determined the course content for the
Science, Technology and Society classes. Cont. to page 2
After three years of work, the curriculum
was approved in whole in 1985. Along
the way, class meeting times were redesigned and faculty had to rework credit-
hour loads. Since then, additions have
been made and the faculty is still working
Panel advises expansion of women's roles
by Holly Wenzel
In a forum on women's roles in the church
last Friday, panel members suggested
ways women can achieve equality and
assume authority in spite of some sexist
church structures. The March 18 forum
held at Bethel was cosponsored by the
Minnesota chapter of Christians for Biblical Equality and the Women's Concerns
Committee of Bethel College. The panel
included Dr. James Beck, clinical psychologist and faculty member at Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary, Rev. Deborah
Menken, Assembly of God pastor and
Ph.D. candidate at Fuller Theological
Seminary, Alvera Mickelsen, former journalism instructor at Bethel College, and
Dr. Berkeley Mickelsen, professor emeritus at Bethel Seminary. Phyllis Alsdurf,
coauthor of a book on wife abuse in Christian homes and former editor of Family
Life Today, moderated the forum.
Beck said that sexism in the church can
also disrupt the home and marriage, and
said, "We cannot find sexism in Genesis 1
and 2, nor can we find it at the heart of
what sexuality was created to be."
Dr. Mickelsen addressed questions about
1 Timothy 2:13-15, the passage where
Paul writes that women must be silent in
church. "The whole passage has to be
looked on in terms of who Paul was talking about," said Mickelsen, who explained that although the article used in
"the men" meant the men as a class, the
women in the passage were not grouped
this way. "So, consequently, the passage
talks about three or four kinds of women.
The kind of women he's talking about
there have problems with modesty, with
chastity, and the exhibition of wealth. It's
these kinds of women that Paul wants to
be learning and not teaching."
Mrs. Mickelsen cited scriptural evidence
as a whole to show that a male monopoly
of authority is wrong. "What our Lord did
always was use his authority to empower
others, to enable them to achieve what
they are meant to achieve. Real authority
is used to enable others to become all
that God meant them to be, and that is in
keeping with the words of our Lord. That
message has really been lost, 1 think, in
the church. We have had an attitude that
comes from the Army; it doesn't come
from the Scriptures."
ence with sexism. She recalled her parents'and a few church members' encouragement to attend the Assemblies of
God Seminary in Springfeild, Missouri,
but said, "My pastor would not even
acknowledge it. He told everybody in
the church that I was getting a master's
degree in music." When she arrived at the
seminary, the academic vice president
tried to refuse her entrance. She showed
him his hand-signed letter of acceptance
and asked if he still wasn't going to let her
in.
"He said, 'Well, yes; I have to, but don't
you realize an M. Div. is a pastoral
degree?"'
In her research of women's issues, Alvera
Mickelsen said, "I've been really disturbed
by the number of women who tell me that
somewhere along the way they have
been counseled by somebody on some
subject, and the line that comes to them
is 'You seem to have trouble with authority.' What it really means is 'You aren't
willing to do what 1 tell you to do'—that's
the problem."
Menken has had some firsthand experi- Cont. to page 4
Elmquist,
Deakins win
Jess Elmquist and Paul Deakins were
named President and Vice President of
the B.S.A. in last Tuesday's election,
squeaking past contenders Scott Huffman and Noel Bjerkaas by a narrow 5.1%
of the vote. Approximately half of the
student body voted in the election.
Concerning the much debated issues of
mandatory chape! raised in Tuesday's
Table-tents' interviews, Deakins says, "It
is the administration's issue. We don't
have the authority to put it forward. Our
responsibility is to represent the students'
feelings on the issue."

Reproduction or distribution of these files is permitted for educational and research purposes with proper attribution to the Bethel Digital Library. No commercial reproduction or distribution of these files is permitted under copyright law without the written permission of Bethel University Digital Library. For questions or further information on this collection, contact digital-library@bethel.edu.

Reproduction or distribution of these files is permitted for educational and research purposes with proper attribution to the Bethel Digital Library. No commercial reproduction or distribution of these files is permitted under copyright law without the written permission of Bethel University Digital Library. For questions or further information on this collection, contact digital-library@bethel.edu.

riouiuo
ArfNiNG RESOURCE CENTER
8B11EL COLLEGE
3900 Bethel Drive
St. Paul, Minnesota 55112
CLARION
25 March, 1988
Bethel College
St. Paul, Minnesota
First in a series
Beginnings of new curriculum explained
by Matt Richburg
The blue booklet said, 'A New Beginning,
Bethel's Academic program." It looked
like the other pamphlets, brochures and
flyers that I had received from so many
other colleges. I opened it and read
about genera! education, and the classes
that ! would have to take if I hoped to
graduate from Bethel. "Christianity and
Western Culture," "World Views," "Contemporary Christian Choices"; what did
all of these entail?
The class who entered Bethel in teh fall of
1985 and who are juniors this year were
the first to experience the new general
education requirements. Two new freshmen classes have since been added to
the program. The idea of general education probably didn't mean a whole lot to
the incoming students; however, it is the
basic concept undergirding a liberal arts
education.
Bethel and other liberal arts colleges seek
to give students a broad educational
background, one that draws from many
fields of study and prepares a student for
all aspects of life.
To achieve this goal, a college may design
its general education in two distinct ways.
Traditional liberal arts colleges or universities often use a distributive curriculum.
Students take introductory classes from a
broad range of fields including literature,
philosophy, foreign language and
science.
Bethel chose to design an inter-disciplinary curriculum. Courses are structured
around relevant themes, whether they be
Science, Technology and Society, or
General Education
A Closer Look
Group Interaction. Students are given a
choice of the course they wish to take
within a specified theme. The school may
require other classes, such as CWC, which
are taught from a variety of disciplines
including history, Bible and literature.
In 1980, the faculty began to voice discontentment with the general education
requirements. Ten years had passed since
its implementation and its flaws were
evident. Dean Ebner, Associate Dean for
Academic Affairs, said, "The old curriculum was hard to understand and the
categories had lost shape and meaning.
Students could take a little of this and a
little of that."
Although the movement began in 1980,
formal work did not start until the fall of
1982. Ebner said that many new faculty
arrived in 1981 and the new perspectives
they brought to the school got the ball
rolling on a new curriculum.
The faculty and administration decided to
keep a distributive curriculum for several
reasons. Ebner likes this perspective because classes are taught as an overview
of a field rather than as an introductory
class. Students can better comprehend a
broad range of ideas relevant to their
lives. Stan Anderson believes that "students are much more conversant with
ideas that are important in the world... if a
student takes a modern age course, 1 can
assume they've had CWC and structure
my class around that knowledge."
According to Bill Johnson, professor of
political science, the faculty also benefits
from this type of a curriculum. "The real
world is not divided into academic departments. We have to deal with things
that no one discipline completely understands. The faculty grows when it works
together."
Faculty and administration found it necessary to work together in whole in order to
accomplish the task that lay ahead. The
administration let the faculty take control
of the process and Ebner said, "Without
specifying what we wanted, we spun off
task forces and put anyone interested in
the area to work; no one was left out who
had an interest."
He was the only person who didn't have a
science background serving on the
committee. This was done to ensure a
well-rounded look at the subject matter.
These special task force committees had
two basic questions in mind at each step
of the process. What will a graduate of
Bethel need in the 1990s? and What will
await them in the 1990s? Ebner summarized the committees' goals, "We tried
to design a curriculum for a young Christian entering the world."
After the task force assigned to each
phase of the curriculum development
reached a consensus, it presented two
alternative proposals to the Central Curriculum Committee. Committee members discussed and voted on each course
designation. Objections were encouraged, and Ebner said that "town meetings" were held to allow the faculty to talk
problems out.
"We didn't vote on the whole curriculum
until we approved each piece. We
worked topic by topic, piece by piece,
issue by issue," said Ebner. Johnson said
he was happy with faculty input in the
process. "The curriculum is the one place
in the school where the faculty has a lot of
run." Anderson commented, "The administration was very cooperative and they
provided the resources necessary."
The task forces suggested basic course
headings and then provided suggestions
for courses which would give students an
intense look at an important topic. Bill
Johnson served on the committee that
determined the course content for the
Science, Technology and Society classes. Cont. to page 2
After three years of work, the curriculum
was approved in whole in 1985. Along
the way, class meeting times were redesigned and faculty had to rework credit-
hour loads. Since then, additions have
been made and the faculty is still working
Panel advises expansion of women's roles
by Holly Wenzel
In a forum on women's roles in the church
last Friday, panel members suggested
ways women can achieve equality and
assume authority in spite of some sexist
church structures. The March 18 forum
held at Bethel was cosponsored by the
Minnesota chapter of Christians for Biblical Equality and the Women's Concerns
Committee of Bethel College. The panel
included Dr. James Beck, clinical psychologist and faculty member at Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary, Rev. Deborah
Menken, Assembly of God pastor and
Ph.D. candidate at Fuller Theological
Seminary, Alvera Mickelsen, former journalism instructor at Bethel College, and
Dr. Berkeley Mickelsen, professor emeritus at Bethel Seminary. Phyllis Alsdurf,
coauthor of a book on wife abuse in Christian homes and former editor of Family
Life Today, moderated the forum.
Beck said that sexism in the church can
also disrupt the home and marriage, and
said, "We cannot find sexism in Genesis 1
and 2, nor can we find it at the heart of
what sexuality was created to be."
Dr. Mickelsen addressed questions about
1 Timothy 2:13-15, the passage where
Paul writes that women must be silent in
church. "The whole passage has to be
looked on in terms of who Paul was talking about," said Mickelsen, who explained that although the article used in
"the men" meant the men as a class, the
women in the passage were not grouped
this way. "So, consequently, the passage
talks about three or four kinds of women.
The kind of women he's talking about
there have problems with modesty, with
chastity, and the exhibition of wealth. It's
these kinds of women that Paul wants to
be learning and not teaching."
Mrs. Mickelsen cited scriptural evidence
as a whole to show that a male monopoly
of authority is wrong. "What our Lord did
always was use his authority to empower
others, to enable them to achieve what
they are meant to achieve. Real authority
is used to enable others to become all
that God meant them to be, and that is in
keeping with the words of our Lord. That
message has really been lost, 1 think, in
the church. We have had an attitude that
comes from the Army; it doesn't come
from the Scriptures."
ence with sexism. She recalled her parents'and a few church members' encouragement to attend the Assemblies of
God Seminary in Springfeild, Missouri,
but said, "My pastor would not even
acknowledge it. He told everybody in
the church that I was getting a master's
degree in music." When she arrived at the
seminary, the academic vice president
tried to refuse her entrance. She showed
him his hand-signed letter of acceptance
and asked if he still wasn't going to let her
in.
"He said, 'Well, yes; I have to, but don't
you realize an M. Div. is a pastoral
degree?"'
In her research of women's issues, Alvera
Mickelsen said, "I've been really disturbed
by the number of women who tell me that
somewhere along the way they have
been counseled by somebody on some
subject, and the line that comes to them
is 'You seem to have trouble with authority.' What it really means is 'You aren't
willing to do what 1 tell you to do'—that's
the problem."
Menken has had some firsthand experi- Cont. to page 4
Elmquist,
Deakins win
Jess Elmquist and Paul Deakins were
named President and Vice President of
the B.S.A. in last Tuesday's election,
squeaking past contenders Scott Huffman and Noel Bjerkaas by a narrow 5.1%
of the vote. Approximately half of the
student body voted in the election.
Concerning the much debated issues of
mandatory chape! raised in Tuesday's
Table-tents' interviews, Deakins says, "It
is the administration's issue. We don't
have the authority to put it forward. Our
responsibility is to represent the students'
feelings on the issue."